itch.io

you have to love people who say "do your reading" who haven't done proper reading.

You're conflating Socialism with Totalitarianism, and these two things are neither synonyms nor inextricably linked to one another. The whole point of Socialism is that the "means of production"- as in, the capacity to produce food, basic necessities, commodities, and so forth, lies with the people as a whole, rather than a handful who can then exploit their effective monopoly on these things to increase their profits. (You talk about greatness, but isn't one of the basic tenets of the country you're fetishizing "By, Of, and For the People"? )That has nothing to do with your allusions to censorship. Having a non-zero amount of regulation on keeping things affordable doesn't somehow inherently remove anyone's right to create, or put forth their creative endeavors towards the world. If anything, it should HELP- making resources more accessible across the board would give more people an opportunity to do so.

Quite frankly, you don't know what you're talking about. You're making broad, sweeping assumptions about the nature of certain economic systems based on the way you were taught about specific examples of them- by a country that stood in opposition to those specific examples, and actively benefits from you and everyone else believing that they WILL all be like that. Like, seriously, do you even understand how our political system works as it is right now? How much money factors into things? Between lobbying, donations to fund campaigns... do you honestly think the people with the money to influence things at that scale AREN'T going to try to sway opinions in favor of keeping the status quo, which is skewed so heavily in their favor?

It honestly sounds like you're arguing in bad faith, with no intention to form a coherent point beyond regurgitating things you've been told in service of a system that's BY DEFINITION screwing over everyone who doesn't have the resources to game it themselves.

"An economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state."

Like, literally, that's the dictionary definition of Capitalism. Google it. The "for profit" point is important. If that's the focus, the crux of our system, then everything happens in service of that goal. Raising prices, cutting corners, keeping wages as low as possible... all of that ups profits, and if you'd get your head out of the proverbial sand and open both your eyes and a damn history book, you'd be aware that the only reason things aren't WORSE than they are today as far as that goes is because of people who've had to fight tooth and nail to keep themselves and everyone else from getting eaten alive by capitalism. 

If that's what you think a "functional" and "great" economic system is, then it's no wonder you can't- or won't- get your head around Socialism.